Permanent mass unemployment destroys the moral foundations of the social order. The young people, who, having finished their training for work, are f… - Ludwig von Mises

Markets mean patrons, buyers, consumers. There is under capitalism one way to wealth: to serve the consumers better and cheaper than other people do. But in the shop and factory, the owner — or in the corporations, the representative of the shareholders, the president — is the boss. The mastership is merely apparent and conditional. He is subject to the supremacy of the consumer. The consumer is king — the real boss — and the manufacturer is done for if he does not outstrip his competitors in best serving the consumers. It was this great economic transformation that changed the face of the world.

Therefore it is not arrogance or narrow-mindedness that leads the economist to discuss these things from the standpoint of economics. No one, who is not able to form an independent opinion about the admittedly difficult and highly technical problem of calculation in the socialist economy, should take sides in the question of socialism versus capitalism. No one should speak about interventionism who has not examined the economic consequences of interventionism. An end should be put to the common practice of discussing these problems from the standpoint of the prevailing errors, fallacies, and prejudices. It might be more entertaining to avoid the real issues and merely to use popular catchwords and emotional slogans. But politics is a serious matter. Those who do not want to think its problems through to the end should keep away from it.

The worst thing that can happen to a socialist is to have his country ruled by socialists who are not his friends.